Wire-clamp.



Patented July 3, 1917.

"W PNN Invenor l HABB CULI BTATON, 0F BURLINGTN, IOWA.

, WIRE-omni.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HARRY citizen ofthe United States, Burlington,

VCULI? STAToN, a and resident of and useful Wire-Clamp, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The object of I nyinvention is to provide a -wire clamp of simple, durable, and ineX- v pensive construction.

A further object 1s to provide' a novel means whereby a contact may be formed belng shown as cutoii' at with wires inc losed therein.A

tween two insulated wires without having to remove the insulation.

A further object is to provide a clamp for.

making a contact .between two wires which is provided with pins adapted to be forced through the insulation 4by drawing the clamp' members together so4 that the points of the pins will rest against thewire proper.

A further object i'st'o -provide a clamp with such Vpins having a staggered relation toward each other, whereby, as the clamp members are drawn toward each other, the wire will be slightly bent and the points of the pins moved longitudinally on its surface as the bending of the wire'draws it through the. insulation. j

My invention consists 1n thearrangement,

u l constructlon,

as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my drawingfs,in which:

.Figure 1 shows an end elevation of a clam lated wires which are passed through it beendv of the clamp.

. .Fig 2 shows a side elevation of the clamp Fig. 3 shows a, vertical, tudinal-view taken on the central line of one of the wires, and

l used the reference numeral 10i-to indicate Fig. 4- shows a vertical transverse sec- .'tional view taken on the central line of one pair of contact pins.

In the accompanying drawings, I have generally the upper half or member of my lower half or member is in tudinal grooves 12 adapted to register vwith a similar pair of grooves 13 are formed in the members 10 and 11 respectively. Flanges 14 formed on member 10 coactwith the outer upper edges of member 11 to prevent lateral Specication of Letters Patent; application med November 27, 1191s. serial No. 133,840,

in the county of Des Moines and' State of Iowa,have invented a certain newv and-combination ofv the various parts of the device whereby the objects I r contemplated are attained,

p embodying my invention, the insu jb pinsl9 upwardagainst the wire-.20 and pins 19 down'against) the wire,

sectional, 'longivdisplacement of the l members when they-v' are brought together.. A bolt 15v and nut 16, or other simllar means, are provided for drawing the clamp membersin actual use the lower end of is battered 'so that the nut can not be separated from the bolt with the consequent tendency to lose one or more of the parts when they are being carriedaround. 4 -The groove 12 is more downwardly project from -a central longitudinal line, and are pointed at their lower ends. hasl upwardlyl projecting .pins similar in shape but which' are spaced longitudinally from pins '18.` The latter-described pins are designated by numeral 19.

Thev parts are so interrelated in size thaty when the clamp members fare Vbrought to'- gether bythe bolt 15 around a. pail-of wires Patented Iuly 3, 1917.

Groove 13' se together,- and thebolt at '1'7 provided with two. or"V projecting pins 18 which 20, that the insulation 21` thereon will be Vtightly pressed between the `paisofregistering grooves 12 and 13,. and the adjacent faces'of the clamp members will substantiallyabut against each other. A1'1`urthe1",.the

length of the pins is such vthat Whenzthef wires are in this position, the ends of/ the plane spaced slightly' down from the plane'inj which theends'of pins 18 will lie in a pins 19' lie.

members are brought together, pins 18. and

19 will. push throughV the insulation 21 to the wires 20, at which sition in which-the adjacent faces. abut.

elongated S shape iiithe portion adjacent to the pins.

,It has been found y actual l experiment It will thus be seen that when the clamp- 4 time the clampmem y bers will'still, not' have reached their 1(1)- e alance of the closing movement pushesthe` .9.5

so-that the portion f' downwardly and 1 9 is bent upthatths bending" thewire pulls it through the4 insulation -and conseque pins are not only held against it by the pressure of the bolt .15 but are during the latter part of theclo'sing movement of the clamp. The grooves in the clamp members being formed so as to engage the outside of the insulation tightly when-'the clamp memberslare brought together prevent by their pressure against the insulation the wires from buckling sidewise t0. aller tly. movesiti along past the point of the pins so that the scraped along it the pins to .slidepast the wires instead of having the points' press directly against said wires.

It will be understood that there are many devices for accomplishing the purpose which mine does, and that I do not claim as new t the clamp with registering grooves for rewires by -removing the 'insulation or'the ceiving two wires which it is desired to fasten together. The novelty of 'construction resides in the improved means for forming an electrical connection between two insulated Wires without having toy repare the like. l 1' In actual operat-iwn; this device is used with telephones which are connected' as is common in rura'dstrictsl in a series, the

method being td'fstiing the necessary wires to the farthest subscriber, and then to connect with those'wres 'at convenient places the subscribersliving atinter'inediate points.

When connecting up lauch intermediate or new' subscribers, the ends of the new wires must beconnected to those `already installed and some means must be provided to protect thev connection from the weather, as it is usually made outdoors in an unprotected place. My invention is intended to be'used in such situationsto connect the ends ofl the new wires with-the wires already installed, end to make it'unnecessary to makeany preparations to insure a tight joint or to install any protection over the joint afterward to prevent corrosion and thelike. It`

will be seen that with my construction it is not necessary to cut off the insulation of either wire so that corrosionwill ensue, nor

it isnece'ssary to protect the joint afterward because'fthe insulation has not been broken 40' except at a point within the clamp.

The pins being so arranged that .their oints slide along the wirew'hen the clamp is being closed also insures a positive metal to metal contact because of the shearing action of'such sliding. 1

It will be understood that some changes maybe made in the construction and ar'- rangement of the parts, without departing from the spirit of my invention, and it is my intention to includev inthis application Vall such changes as may be included within 'the reasonablev scope 'of' the claims.

I claim as my invention V u 1. In awire clamp comprising two coacting members, a pair of clam members having longitudinal grooves t' in their adjacent surfaces whereby a passageway betvveenthe members is formed, an insulating wire extended through said passageway and a plurality of cutting devices extended outwardly from a tml passa clamp member being in stag ered relation to the cuttinV devices of the ot er clamp membei' where y bringing said clamp members vtogether will cause said cutting devices to penetrate through the insulation of the wire and the point of each cutting device and to move longitudinally along vthe surface of said Wire.

2. In a wire clamp adapted to secure together and form a contact between two insulated wires, two members movable toward and from each other, said members having pairs of registering grooves in their adjacent faces, a plurality of cutting devices -extending from a central longitudinal line pair ofgrooves adapted to register with the grooves in the upper member, a plurality of cutting devices projecting from a central longitudinal line of each groove a distance substantially. equal to the depth of the groove, the cuttingA devices of the upper member being spacedzlongitudinally from those of the lower member, and means for fastening the clamp members together.

4. In a device of the class described, an upper 'clamp' member having a pair of spaced-:longitudinal grooves in its lower surface, a lower clamp memberhaving a pair of spaced longitudinal grooves in its upper surface adapted to coact with the grooves of the upper clamp member to form parallel a central longitudinal line of each groove,

the cutting devices of the upper'clamp members bein staggered, relative to. the cutting,

devices o the lower clamp members and an insulated wire extended through each ofthe- .,p'ea'ssageways formed by said grooves, lparts ying so arranged that when the clamp memways through the entire device when the c amp members -are brought together, a plurality of cutting devices extending from iio "bers are squeezed together the cutting def vibes will cut'through-the insulation' and push the wire toward the opposite clampl member whereby the cutting' edge of each cutting device will be slid along the surface of the wire.

. November 17, 1916.

- Hanni; CULI? sT meer. 

